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Everyone needs a recipe for gumbo in their recipe arsenal so today, I’m sharing an authentic gumbo recipe thanks to Sarah, my {soon-to-be} sister-in-law.
To say this gumbo was a labor of love, would be a huge understatement. I think it was a labor of my entire life. It seriously takes every ounce of energy in you to make this but the results are SO OUT OF THIS WORLD that I would do it all over again. This took so much energy out of me on Saturday, I went to bed at 9:30pm and woke up at 8:30am on Sunday. Yeah, 11 hours of sleep, baby. I’m a wuss.
Sarah was born and raised in Cajun country (more specifically in Baton Rouge, Louisiana) and this is her grandmother’s recipe for gumbo. Now, before y’all go nutso on me over this gumbo, let me throw this disclaimer out there: yes, I’m sure your mother’s grandmother has a great recipe for gumbo. I’m not stating this is “THE” gumbo recipe. It’s a family recipe that I’m sharing with you. There’s nothing more to it than just that. Also, this is more of a Cajun gumbo rather than the regular Creole gumbo that most are accustomed to. The Creole gumbo would likely have a seafood mix instead of this chicken and andouille mix, hence why this is a Cajun gumbo.
Ok, now that little disclaimer is out of the way, we can get to cooking! The most labor intensive part of this is making the roux, which I highly recommend making the night before. You have to cook it to a chocolate color. Yeah, imagine turning white flour into a chocolate color. Mhm, definitely takes a while. It took me an hour to get it to be a dark chocolate color. Again, WORTH IT. It’s what gives the nutty and smokey taste to the gumbo. Another labor intensive part of this dish is all the chopping and stirring you have to do. I think this gumbo took me a total of 4 hours to make. Would I do it again? Hell yeah! It’s TO DIE FOR. So authentic and so delicious. It fills you up too! This isn’t a light dish at all, but was able to eat this for lunch and skip dinner. That’s how full it kept me! Let’s not mention the two bowls I ate – that might’ve helped in the “skipping dinner” part.
I’m trying a new thing out with step-by-step photos. You’ll notice some of the newer entries will have them but since I work a month out at a time, the step-by-steps will be few in far between for this month. Look for more in January :)
Anyway, so you see that first picture? That’s how dark my roux was. Gorgeous, huh? So then you move on to browning your sausage, then browning your chicken, then the veggies, then you throw the luxurious roux into the mix, stir it around, add the chicken broth, and let it simmer for at least 2-3 hours. It’s the most marvelous thing when it’s done. Trust me. Serve it over rice and take a nice long nap afterwards.
Chicken and Andouille Sausage Gumbo
Equipment
Ingredients
For the roux (highly recommend making the night before):
- 1 cup (125 g) all purpose flour
- ½ cup (118 ml) vegetable oil
For the gumbo:
- 1 large onion, diced
- 1 large green bell pepper, diced
- 1 cup (101 g) of celery, chopped, or 3-4 stalks
- 1 pack of Andouille sausage, cut into half moons, I had 6 in my 12 oz. package
- 3 pounds (1361 g) boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 2 inch cubes (highly recommend using thighs and NOT chicken breasts)
- 1 tablespoon Tony’s Chachere’s Cajun seasoning
- 8 cups (1893 ml) chicken broth
- ⅛ – ¼ teaspoon (⅜ teaspoon) cayenne pepper
- 4 leaves bay
- 1 ½ tablespoon file powder
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- To make the roux, combine flour and vegetable oil in a sauce pan over medium low heat. Using a wooden spoon, continuously stir the roux as it cooks. Eventually, it’ll turn darker shades of brown. This will take about an hour to achieve the color you see above. Don’t leave your roux! It burns very quickly. Once you’ve achieved the desired color, remove from heat and let sit until it reaches room temperature then store in an airtight container in the fridge to use the next day for gumbo (or if doing all in the same day, you don’t need to put it in a container, just let it sit in the pot while you prepare everything else).
- To make the gumbo, in a large dutch oven, brown the sausage in 2 tbsp. of vegetable oil. Once the sausage is brown, remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
- Brown the chicken pieces in the same oil and sprinkle the tbsp. of Tony’s Cajun seasoning on the chicken. Once chicken is brown, remove with slotted spoon and set aside.
- Next, in the same oil, sauté onion, green bell pepper, and celery (they call this the holy trinity in Louisiana) until soft and tender, then add the sausage and chicken back in the pot.
- Pour all the roux on top of the mixture and let it warm up with everything. Stir to coat.
- Add the 8 cups of chicken broth on top, stirring to get it all combined. Add cayenne pepper and bay leaves, as well as salt and pepper, to taste.
- Bring mixture to a boil then let it simmer for 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally.
- Half an hour prior to finishing and serving, whisk in file powder then continue to let it simmer.
- Serve over bed of white rice.
- Store in airtight containers in the fridge or freeze for later.
Nutrition
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Made this once and it was such a hit with my family (and the neighbors!) that it is now the meal everyone requests on their birthday! It’s a pain in the ass to cook but nothing comes close to the deep, smoky flavor of the roux.
It is a total PIA to make but it is definitely worth it!!!
I just made this tonight and it is amazing. Great recipe, thanks for sharing! Just wish I could upload a picture of the final product here.
Have you ever tried making the roux in the microwave? Absolutely the way to go! Mix in a pyrex or other oven proof glass bowl and microwave on high 5 minutes. Stir, nuke another 3 minutes stir, then keep heating and stirring. As it gets darker, shorten the time. When it is getting close to the color I want, I heat one minute between stirs. Depending how dark you want it, it will be done in 10 to 20 minutes with much less risk of burning.
Wow, I didn’t know you could to that – haha sounds like a much better way to do it! I’ll have to give it a try :) thank you!!
Quick question. I made the roux exactly perfect (it took an hour and a half); however I won’t be able to make this fabulous dish until tomorrow – will the roux save for 2 days in the refrigerator or will I need to start over?
Thank you.
Hi Jenn! No, you won’t need to start over. You can save the roux for tomorrow :) enjoy!
Just an FYI to help… I was told the easiest way to tell when you rue is done, because it can burn so easily, is to compare it to an old copper penny, not a shiny new one. Thanks for sharing your recipe!
I made this yesterday and OMG, this was some of the best gumbo I’ve ever had. That’s saying a lot, because my DH makes an awesome gumbo. I did add some okra and shrimp, and can’t wait to have it the second time around. Thanks for the great recipe.
This looks awesome..I think I am going to try this for New Years.. No it wont be my mom’s but since she wont make it and I never learned…lets just say every few years I get up enough courage to try again with a new recipe. LOL I will let you know how it goes and if you don’t mind- post your recipe on my blog… I will definitely honor where the recipe comes from. Great pics by the way! Wish me luck
LOVE that roux!! Looks so freaking gorgeous Julie!! Gumbo is one of my favorite dishes to warm up with this time of year – although I only make it like once a year, it’s still totally worth it!
OH YES YES YES YES YES. I love that blue in the background from the Le Creuset :)
This looks so amazing! I can’t even imagine how good it must taste!